It’s August! I think. Did you just look at the calendar to confirm what day and month it is?
The days, weeks and months since mid March have blurred together and we have missed many of the events and milestones that we love about spring and summer — fairs, concerts, graduations, family reunions, summer jobs, baseball, summer olympics, eating in restaurants, going out with friends, traveling. You get the idea.
Every day and everywhere we turn — TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, social media, email — we are inundated with news about the coronavirus. No matter your opinion on the subject, the global pandemic has impacted everything about your life.
I came across this quote by Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. “When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”
So I challenge you to find a good thing in every day of this pandemic. Simple, small things that we take for granted remind us that we are alive, we are resilient, we are healthy, we are loved.
I can actually think of one silver lining in all of this. If I had been in Alaska this summer as planned I would not have been able to spend time with one of my oldest (even though she was younger than me!) and dearest friends. She had survived breast cancer in 2014 but early last year it came back with a vengeance. I visited her several times a week, we texted and talked on the phone. I watched the Super Bowl at her house, we watched lots of HGTV, I saw her face light up when her 18-month-old granddaughter came to visit. My friend called me one morning saying she felt pretty good and invited me to go shopping with her and her husband. For a couple of hours, life felt almost normal but I knew she was putting on a brave face. Two weeks later she would be gone. It would have been devastating to miss her memorial service and the opportunity to celebrate her life. Miss you, my friend!
When I saw this quote I realized that my friend lived her life this way. A good lesson for us all, even during these challenging times.
“No matter how you feel today, get up, dress up and show up.” Paulo Coelho
One. Good. Thing.
Feeding a stray cat. Remembering a dear friend. Growing flowers from seeds. A fun surprise gift from my sister. Finding a new favorite beverage. New shoes and painted toes.
A few favorite photos from July 2020.
Bridge over the Rio Grande. Cloudy skies. Moo. Cow carcass. Eye on the water.
Above: Beautiful views from the Garfield Cemetery.
Below: Hueco Tanks State Park. Picnic shelter. Desert highway.
Goats at Runyan Ranches.
photography 